Friday, December 30, 2016

MANILA, Dec. 29 (PNA) -- The Philippine population will continue to increase in 2017 and is projected to reach 105,758,850 by December 31, 2017, based on projections made by the Commission on Population (POPCOM) using data from the Philippine StatisticsAuthority (PSA).

Included in the projection are 27,293,422 women of reproductive age (aged 15-49). These women are usually the beneficiaries of Reproductive Health services under the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law.

Adolescent girls 10-19 years old will also increase to 10,080,824 next year. Based on the most recent data from the PSA (2014), it is expected that over 200,000 adolescent girls will give birth in 2017.

The figures for women of reproductive age and adolescent girls continue to be the highest numbers on record. This trend is expected to continue up to 2022 when the numbers of women of reproductive age are expected to peak at 29.1 million and adolescent girls at 11.3 million.

“The continuing increase in population is due to relatively high fertility rates of Filipino women which is 3 children on average; however, 11 of the 17 regions show higher fertility rates than the national average.

ARMM, Bicol and Western Visayas continue to have rates ranging from 3.8 in Western Visayas to 4.1 in Bicol and 4.2 in ARMM,” Executive Director Juan A. Perez III of POPCOM noted. Other population trends being tracked by POPCOM for 2017 are number of schoolchildren which are expected to rise to 31.5 million, labor force of 66.7 million and population over 65 years old at 5.2 million.

Based on the number of births in 2014 reported by PSA, there were 3.33 Filipinos born every minute that year. More males than females were born with 1.02 males born for every female.

Based on PSA projections of 1,691,897 births in 2017, the number of Filipinos born per minute will go down to 3.22 births per minute next year. (PNA)FPV/PR/EBP